NFL will return to Mexico for regular-season game in 2016

The Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders will play a regular-season game in Mexico City next season on Nov. 21, the league announced Friday.

“Expanding our International Series of regular-season games to Mexico marks an important step in our continued international growth,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in a press conference. “We have a tremendous, passionate fan base in Mexico and we know the atmosphere on game day will be outstanding.”

The game is the first in Mexico City since the Cardinals and 49ers played at Estadio Azteca in 2005. It’s also the first game of the NFL’s International Series that will not take place in London.

The United Kingdom has hosted NFL games for the past several seasons, with 14 games taking place in London since 2007.

John McClain of the Houston Chroniclereports that the Texans had previously expressed interest in playing a road game in Mexico City.

“We’ve always expressed that we have an interest in participating internationally as a road team [and] we’ve made it clear that we were most interested in doing that in Mexico,” Texans president Jamey Rootes said, adding that it would be “an amazing opportunity for teams in the league.”